In short, in the course of one evening, Busbecq was able to learn enough about Crimean Gothic to convince future linguists that its speakers were not Germans but a distinct group of Goths related to the Visigoths.

After invasion and settlement by Goths, Visigoths, Turkmen, Arabs and others, it is almost impossible to see the Europeans and North Africans today as the direct heirs of those earlier people.

Although she always needed to wear the spectacles she had worn since childhood, the pretty dresses she had worn then were discarded in favour of football shirts, and then, aged 13, the black baggy clothes favoured by Goths.

Paint your face white and join the Goths then.

No, he was a true Goth complete with a black, finely tailored suit, shiny black shoes, and the strange black cloak, which he had given to me.